To see the world in a grain of sand

A while back, a young lady gave up her job as a teacher with an unusually short resignation letter.

The world, she said, is huge and she wants to see more of it.

She became an Internet sensation, with many young people admiring her courage and adventurous spirit.

Her joie de vivre reflects a common attitude among the young in China.

Everyone loves to travel, to see new places, experience new cultures, try exciting strange new foods and then come home with stories to tell.

However, you can only do so if you have both the money and the time.

Our young lady obviously did not lack money and she decided her old job was taking up too much of her time.

For most of us, the obligations of family and the necessity of making a living allow us only the luxury of an occasional holiday.

China's urban young is fortunate, in that few of them have to bear the burden of responsibilities. Those in their 30s or 20s still have parents in the active workforce or in business, and more likely than not they can enjoy the subsidies the loving parents give.

These unfettered young are also unusually mobile when it comes to the choice of jobs. While their parents would probably stay in the same job from graduation to grave, these children would not hesitate to resign at the drop of a hat - whether to travel or take an extended rest, or a better position with more money.

It is a worrying trend that speaks of a lack of commitment and a disregard of their own future.

It is also one of the side effects of the open market economy of the last few decades, and a knee-jerk reaction to the austerity of the past.

As for our young ex-teacher, we don't know how far she traveled, but the last we heard, she had gotten married and settled down in Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu much to the disappointment of her online fans.

Perhaps she finally came to her senses.

The fans, dismayed by her lack of commitment even to her plans to travel, have probably gotten the wrong end of the stick.

Make no mistake, I am all for traveling more. In fact, I often encourage my young colleagues to break out of their comfort zones and experience the strange and new.

"Go abroad for further studies and your world, and how you see the world will change," I tell them. But I also remind them to come back and use that knowledge for the betterment of home and country.

China is on an inexorable road to change. As it morphs from the cusp of a developing to a developed country, its people, too, will face huge social changes and challenges.

The secret, as always, is how to strike a balance.

Contact the writer at paulined@chinadaily.com.cn